Door Closure

ABSTRACT

The door closure employs a pivotally mounted roller assembly to engage a roller within a recess of a mounting hook. The roller assembly also has a pair of leaf springs that are used in tandem to passively retain the bracket in each of the open position and the closed position.

This invention relates to a door closure. More particularly, this invention relates to a door closure for a refrigerator. Still more particularly, this invention relates to a door closure for a commercial walk-in refrigerator.

As is known, there are many types of door closures for commercial walk-in refrigerators. For example, door closures are available from Component Hardware Group, Inc. of Lakewood N.J., which utilize a mounting hook that can be mounted in a stationary manner on a door jamb or frame of a refrigerated compartment and a roller assembly that can be mounted on a door for selective engagement with the mounting hook. Typically, the roller assembly is constructed so that a roller can be moved into engagement with the mounting hook in order to close the door against the jamb or frame and to be readily removed from engagement from the mounting hook when the door is to be opened for access into the refrigerated compartment. In order to effect the movement of the roller into and out of engagement with the mounting hook, use is made of a coil spring within a housing of the roller assembly to mount the roller for reciprocation within the housing in order to engage with and to dis-engage from the hook.

However, use of a coil spring requires mounting brackets in order to maintain the spring in a desired position. Also, since the use of a coil spring to reciprocate a roller requires the coil spring to actively cause the motion of the roller, the constant flexing of the coil spring and the forces generated thereby can cause the coil spring to fail after a relatively short period of use.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to eliminate the need for a coil spring in a door closure.

It is another object of the invention to reduce the number of parts required to make a door closure.

It is another object of the invention to reduce the cost and size of a door closure for use in commercial refrigerators.

Briefly, the invention provides a door closure for a commercial refrigerator that is capable of a long useful life while providing a reliable closure that is easy to close on and be released from a door jamb or frame of the refrigerator.

The door closure includes a mounting hook that can be mounted on a door jamb or frame of a refrigerator in a conventional manner as well as a roller assembly that can be mounted on a door of the refrigerator for selective engagement with the mounting hook.

In accordance with the invention, the mounting hook defines a recess and the roller assembly includes a longitudinally extending housing that defines an elongated a cavity, a bracket that is pivotally mounted within the cavity for movement between an open position and a closed position, a roller that is mounted on one end of the bracket for movement into the recess of the mounting hook and at least one leaf spring secured in the housing and extending across the cavity to be in resilient contact with the bracket for selectively holding the bracket when in each of the open position and the closed position.

The roller assembly is constructed so that the bracket is able to freely pivot when the roller is moved into engagement with the mounting hook during a closing of the door of the refrigerator and when the roller is moved away from the mounting hook when the door is opened from the refrigerator. To this end, the bracket is mounted via bushings on a pin secured in and across the cavity of the housing. In this way, the forces created upon opening and closing of the door are transferred into the housing via the pin thereby increasing the useful life of the door closure.

The roller assembly also includes a second roller that is rotatably mounted in the bracket and disposed in contact with the at least one leaf spring. This second roller facilitates movement of the bracket on the leaf spring.

Since the forces created upon opening and closing of the door are transferred into the housing of the roller assembly, the leaf spring need only be sufficiently strong to allow the bracket to pivot and to hold the bracket in either the open position or the closed position. The leaf spring need only flex a small amount to accommodate the movement of the pivoting bracket between the open position and the closed position.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more apparent taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of a door closure in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates an exploded view of the door closure of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the door closure of FIG. 1 in a closed position; and

FIG. 4 illustrates a cross-sectional view of the door closure of FIG. 1 in position immediately prior to being moved to an open position or being moved into the closed position of FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 1, the door closure 10 is constructed for use on a commercial refrigerator and includes a mounting hook 11 and a roller assembly 12.

The mounting hook 11 is of conventional construction and shape. For example, the mounting hook 11 has a U-shaped base 13 with a pair of flanges 14, a plate 15 of inverted J-shape that defines a recess and a lip 16 that defines an entryway to the recess defined by the plate 15. Each flange 14 is provided with bores 17 that allow for the passage of fastening means, such as screws or bolts or rivets or the like, (not shown) for securing the hook 11 on a door jamb or frame of a refrigerator in a conventional manner.

The roller assembly 12 is constructed to be mounted on a door (not shown) of a refrigerator (not shown) for selective engagement with the mounting hook 11.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the roller assembly 12 includes a mounting bracket 18 of flattened shape and a longitudinally extending housing 19 of U-shaped cross-section that is vertically disposed, as viewed, and slidably mounted on the mounting bracket 18 to define a cavity.

In addition, the roller assembly 12 has a bracket 20 that is pivotally mounted within the cavity of the housing 19 for movement between an open position (see FIG. 4) and a closed position (see FIG. 3). As illustrated, the bracket 20 has a pair of parallel legs 21 that are connected by a bridge 22.

The U-shaped housing 19 has a pair of openings 23 and the legs 21 of the bracket 20 have a pair openings 24 in alignment with the openings 23 in the housing 19 to receive a pin (or axle) 25 for pivoting of the bracket 20 thereon. In addition, a bushing 26 is disposed in each opening 23 of the housing 19 to rotatably receive the pin 25.

The roller assembly 12 also has a roller 27 mounted on one end of the bracket 20 and that projects from the housing 19 for movement into the recess of the mounting hook 11 (see FIG. 3). In this respect, the roller 27 is rotatably mounted on a pin (or axle) 28 that is journalled in openings 29 at the ends of the legs 21 of the bracket 20. In a similar manner, a smaller roller 30 is mounted at the opposite end of the bracket 20 on a pin (or axle) 31 that is journalled in openings 32 at the ends of the legs 21 of the bracket 20.

The roller assembly 12 also has a pair of leaf springs 33 secured in the housing 19 in tandem via a pair of rivets 34. Each spring 33 extends across the cavity of the housing 19 in cantilever manner and is of arcuate shape. The use of two leaf springs 33 provide spring characteristics similar to a compression spring.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the upper leaf spring 33 is in resilient contact with the roller 30 at the lower end of the bracket 20 for selectively holding the bracket 20 in each of the open position and the closed position thereof.

A pair of pins 35 are secured across the cavity of the housing 19 to act as stops to limit the arcuate excursion of the bracket 20 in each of a clockwise direction and a counter-clockwise direction.

Referring to FIG. 2, the mounting plate 18 is provided with a plurality of holes 36 through which fastening elements (not shown) may pass to secure the plate 18 to a door jamb or frame.

In use, when a door on which the roller assembly 12 is mounted is being closed onto a door jamb or frame on which the hook 11 is mounted, the roller 27 that projects from the housing 19 moves onto the lip 16 of the hook 11(see FIG. 4). As the door continues to move, the roller 27 rides up the back of the base 13 and into the recess defined by the J-shaped plate 15 to take up the closed position of Fog. 3. During this time, the smaller roller 30 at the bottom of the bracket 20 (as viewed) rides along the surface of the upper spring 33 as the bracket 20 pivots clockwise as viewed in FIGS. 3 and into the closed position of FIG. 4. The pivoting motion of the bracket 20 causes the springs 33 to flex downwardly, as viewed, to accommodate the motion of the bracket 20 until the bracket 20 reaches a “dead center” position between the stop pins 35. Thereafter, the springs 33 flex upwardly to their initial position as the bracket 20 reaches the closed position represented by the stop pin 35 to the left of FIG. 3.

The springs 33 need only have a sufficient spring constant (K) to hold the bracket 20 in either of the open position and the closed position since the springs 33 are not required to cause movement of the bracket 20 and do not receive any of the forces imposed on the roller 27. As such, the springs 35 are passive in nature.

The invention thus provides a door closure that is capable of a long useful like.

The invention also provides a door closure for commercial refrigerators that is reliable and easy to use. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A door closure comprising a mounting hook defining a recess; a longitudinally extending housing defining a cavity therein; a bracket pivotally mounted within said cavity of said housing for movement between an open position and a closed position; a roller mounted on one end of said bracket and projecting from said housing for movement into said recess of said mounting hook; and at least one leaf spring secured in said housing and extending across said cavity, said leaf spring being in resilient contact with said bracket for selectively holding said bracket in each of said open position and said closed position.
 2. A door closure as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a second roller rotatably mounted in said bracket and disposed in contact with said at least one leaf spring.
 3. A door closure as set forth in claim 2 wherein said at least one leaf spring is arcuately disposed within said housing to accommodate rolling of said second roller thereon between said open position and said closed position.
 4. A door closure as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a mounting bracket of flattened shape and wherein said housing is of U-shaped cross-section and is slidable mounted on said mounting bracket.
 5. A door closure as set forth in claim 1 wherein said at least one leaf spring is of arcuate shape.
 6. A door closure as set forth in claim 1 further comprising a second leaf spring disposed in contiguous contact with said at least one leaf spring.
 7. A roller assembly for a door closure comprising a longitudinally extending housing defining a cavity therein; a bracket pivotally mounted within said cavity of said housing for movement between an open position and a closed position; a roller mounted on one end of said bracket and projecting from said housing for movement into said recess of said mounting hook; and at least one leaf spring secured in said housing and extending across said cavity, said leaf spring being in resilient contact with said bracket for selectively holding said bracket in each of said open position and said closed position.
 8. A roller assembly as set forth in claim 7 wherein said housing is vertically disposed. 